Tuscany Travel guide

Tuscany : Michelin's recommendations

Tuscany witnessed the birth of a key moment in the history of Western art: the Renaissance! From the 13C to the 16C, rival Tuscan cities engaged in endless wars, but that didn’t keep them from turning into ‘‘laboratories’’ where inventors, painters and architects excelled, financed by wealthy families whose political prestige involved ostentatious displays of their luxurious lifestyle. Visiting Florence, Lucca, Pisa and Sienna is always an unparalleled delight.Tuscany is equally captivating for its well-preserved landscapes, gently rolling hills, woodlands, vineyards, and olive and cypress trees, composing a harmonious and inspirational natural environment. If you get the urge to explore Tuscany’s gorgeous light and beautiful panoramas, take a drive or a bike ride down the road from Florence to Fiesole, where age-old farms with fine architecture keep watch over this land where the living is easy. And there’s surely a wine cellar waiting there for you to sample one of the famous Tuscan wines while munching on a bruschetta drizzled with olive oil. There is also an arid and more mysterious side of Tuscany known as Garfagnana, a mountainous region, protected by its status as a park, which runs along the Alpi Apuane and Apennine massif north of Lucca. Tuscany has its own Riviera in Versilia, which stretches from the Mediterranean to the Alpi Apuane and is known for its mild climate. The coastline is dotted with seaside resorts graced with sandy beaches, the most famous of which is Viareggio. The hinterland around Pietrasanta and Upper Versilia, above Carrara, is a less well-known area that is also worth exploring.

Tuscany : Must-see towns and regions

The home of Dante (father of the Italian language), the city of the Medici (patrons of the arts and literature) and a melting pot of humanist art, Florence occupies a magnificent setting best viewed f...

St Francis’s message completely changed the destiny of Assisi. Nowadays, the saint’s ideals of poverty and simplicity are more evident in his rural hermitage retreat than in the San Francesco basilica...

Sheltering behind its brick ramparts planted with trees, Lucca has managed to retain its medieval character and remains largely unspoilt. The harmonious pink and ochre shades of its buildings, its bea...

Many visitors to Pisa do not venture beyond the exceptional architectural complex of the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) with its famous Leaning Tower. However, this attractive city on the Ri...

The town’s main monuments are its walls, which still encircle it, and the famous casa torre (tower houses) which have earned it the nickname ""San Gimignano dalle belle torri"". Of the 72 tower houses...

Built on three reddish clay hills, the city’s streets wend their way inside surprisingly large ramparts. It is a secretive and timeless city which enchants visitors, particularly at sunset, when the c...

Known since Antiquity for its Arezzo vases, this was the birthplace of the renowned patron of the arts, Maecenas. The town’s famous citizens include artists such as the monk Guido d'Arezzo, inventor o...

Montecatini’s spring water has been famous for its medicinal properties for centuries. It is used for the treatment of liver, intestinal and stomach ailments, either through mud baths or simply by dri...